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apricot, almond and polenta upside down traybake

1 June 2019 by Dominic Franks

apricot cake

apricot, almond and polenta upside down traybake

It finally feels like summer here in the UK.  Saturday June 1st and the temperature has passed 24C (that’s over 70F in old money…) and quite frankly it can stay this way.  It’s glorious.  The kitchen doors are wide open to the beautiful garden and the warm air is billowing into the house whilst the fragrant air of an apricot, almond and polenta upside down traybake cake wafts out.  Apricots are in all the shops at the moment which is lovely because they’re my favourite stone fruit.  So versatile; they work just as well in savoury dishes such as a lamb tagine or roasted with a chicken as they do baked into a cake.  I love that they are both sharp and sweet at the same time (and any reader of this blog will know this is my favourite combination.) They are also such an incredible colour.  The ones I bought today have a rosy blush over them that looks like a sunset.

This cake is naturally gluten-free.  You could of course easily substitute the ground almonds and polenta for regular cake flour but I think they make the cake so light and moist and the ground almond particularly makes the whole cake take on a middle-eastern vibe which i’m loving.  The grated lemon zest adds a little zingy kick to the batter which consolidates this traybake as the taste of summer.

Just a quick one before you read the ingredients… this is genuinely the best cake i’ve ever made.  I don’t mean to sound arrogant but it really is superb.  So easy to make and just so bloody tasty!

apricot cake

for the cake

  • 225g soft unsalted butter
  • 225g caster sugar
  • 125g ground almonds
  • 100g fine polenta
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 large free-range eggs
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • roughly 9 apricots – halved (longways) and then each half sliced longways so you have 2 large and 2 smaller disks

Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm x 9cm baking tray and pre-heat the oven to 180°C – sprinkle the base of the tray with Demerara sugar and set aside

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale
Mix together the almonds, polenta and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while. Finally, beat in the lemon zest.
Lay the cut apricots into the base of the tray and and then carefully spoon the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes
The cake is cooked if a skewer comes out cleanish and the edges of the cake begin to shrink away from the sides of the tin.
Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its tin. When it’s cool, invert the cake onto a tray or chopping board and slice into squares to serve
apricot cake
eat and of course, enjoy!
apricot cake

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Filed Under: Cakes Tagged With: apricots, cake, gluten free, ground almonds, polenta, traybake

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Comments

  1. Dan’s mum says

    2 June 2019 at 10:28 pm

    I’ve just made this cake and it is delicious. I was too impatient so ate the first slice while still hot straight from the tin. I look forward to seeing it turned out once it has cooled! Thank you for a great recipe.

    • Dominic Franks says

      6 June 2019 at 4:48 pm

      REALLY!!!??? I’m so glad! It’s one of my favourite cakes and I think its so good… so sharp and so sweet too

  2. Denise Tyrrell says

    2 June 2019 at 11:54 pm

    Love “easy”👌

    • Dominic Franks says

      6 June 2019 at 4:47 pm

      we all love easy! oy!

  3. Jean says

    6 June 2019 at 11:34 am

    It looks and sounds delicious. I love fresh apricots in a cake.

    • Dominic Franks says

      6 June 2019 at 4:47 pm

      thank you… was so unbelievably good!

  4. Phil in the Kitchen says

    6 June 2019 at 11:16 pm

    Blimey that looks good. I do love a good apricot but I’ve not found many to love so far this year. I’m definitely going to keep looking. I haven’t made a cake with polenta for far too long and you’re making me wonder why. This is classic comfort baking in my book.

    • Dominic Franks says

      8 June 2019 at 11:35 am

      Phil, this is SUCH a good cake! I bought some red apricots yesterday in Tesco and they were INCREDIBLE!!!

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About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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